Hey all. Now that I have a little more free time than I used to have in the army, I'm contemplating starting up a new PbP game. This thread is to check for interest.

System: We'll be using Pokémon Tales, my pet homebrew system. The link is here: Pokémon Tales v0.29

The system is quick and dirty, doesn't have a lot of bookkeeping, and focuses on the narrative aspect of roleplaying - perfect for a forum game. If you played in my previous one-shot, you'll be familiar with it. If not, don't worry. The rules are dead simple and I'll explain as we go along.

Setting: The game will be set in the Kanto region of 50 years ago - a darker, more complicated era rife with political uncertainty and rapid industrialization. Think steampunk postwar Japan. I'm open to suggestions on what you'd like to play in this setting. Aspiring Pokémon League champions? Agents on the trail of Team Rocket? Mystery solvers chasing clues across the region? It's up to you.

Players and Schedule: I'd like two to four players for this game. I ask that any potential signups have the time and commitment to keep up with the thread.

I can check the thread about once every evening, with greater or lesser frequency depending on my schedule. If I think I'll be away for a while, I'll do my best to notify players in advance. At a bare minimum, though, I should be able to post on weekends.

Anyone interested? What kind of game would you like to play? Feel free to sound out.

Yes. In. Now. Right now.

Pokémon champions does sound fun, but I'm not sure how well it works as a roleplaying game. I like the potential for clash of ideologies, but idk how interesting battles themselves can be, or training.
Also up for mysteries, although those can be really hit or miss.
Not sure about chasing bad guys, but if we are, then I want to play a kid who's lost his Pokémon.

We could also be the bad guys.

If you end up gunning for the Indigo League, the style of the game will be a lot like the Pokémon anime. You'll travel from town to town, challenging gyms and having adventures along the way.

If you go for the mystery angle, think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or the Da Vinci Code. You'll be racing against time to uncover a mysterious conspiracy.

You can be Team Rocket if you like. In that case, we'll be playing a heist-style game where you have to work together to execute daring criminal schemes.

Why are the games I want to do the most, also the ones most neglected by everyone else. This happened with Aaarrrgh's game as well.
why

Not sure how I missed this... Steampunk Pokemon. You had me from the beginning.

Thanks, guys. Garren, any ideas what sort of game you'd like to play? Champions, mystery solvers, Team Rocket members?

I'm okay with two players. If no new players express interest before Wednesday, I'll finalize the style of the game and start up character creation.

Some worldbuilding in the meantime:

• It is October 1960. Following its defeat in the Oceanic War, the region of Kanto was occupied by the Army of the so-called Indigo League coalition. It's currently recovering from the postwar devastation caused by Dragonite strafing runs, and is set to become an up-and-coming industrial power.
• Electricity is the hot new technology. Cerulean Town and Pewter Town are experiencing huge booms because of their proximity to the copper mines and rare earth deposits in Mt. Moon. Kanto is also modernizing with automobiles, firearms, powered Apricorn Balls, and airships.
• The militaristic Crystal Empire started the war, still controls the Johto region, and is still bitter about losing Kanto in the Treaty of Viridian. The Tohjo Wall separates the west and east halves of the former Empire.
• Team Rocket is one of many citizen militias that formed for protection in the chaos following the war. Without a stable government at present, they are aggressively expanding and absorbing other gangs.
• The Imperial Trainers used Pokémon as a tool of oppression to enforce its will upon the underclasses. The Indigo League has recently introduced a new culture where humans and Pokémon are friends and equals. It remains to be seen how this will affect life in the Kanto region...

Hmm. I do like the idea of Team Rocket as a sort of up and coming power-group trying to reestablish some order (and line their pockets in the process) rather then the pokemon mafia. That has some potential for a fun story.

That said I'd be good for almost anything. The only real exception would be the 'league champions' line, especially if it is following the more traditional 'train team, get badges, fight elite 4' set-up. I feel it would sort undermine both the steam-punk aesthetic and political strife built into the setting and your rule system as a whole which seems more geared towards a narrative play-style and a small group with maybe 2-3 pokemon per person.

Are traditional Pokéballs a thing, or only the ones made out of fruit (how does that even work?). They always seemed very techy to me.

The more I think about it, the more I want to do this. Probably because I immediately had a character concept to think about. It does make them very Pokémon mafia though. Well, doesn't actually have to be Team Rocket.

Most crime organizations start out as close-knit citizen militias. The Mafia and Triads did.

Pokémon Trainers keep their Pokémon in Apricorn Balls, psychic charms made of hollowed-out Apricorns that are linked to the spiritual essence of a Pokémon. They are a sacred tradition, expensive, and very time-consuming to craft. Recently, Indigo League soldiers from Orre and Unova have introduced powered Apricorn Balls, which have an electrical trigger that makes the Pokémon quicker and easier to summon.

It seems like the consensus is to play a game revolving around Team Rocket. How would you feel about a heist campaign? I'd enjoy running an Ocean's Eleven style game where you make daring schemes and execute them. Or would you prefer to be the cops instead?

I haven't actually made up much thought about what the game would be about, I just liked the character I had in mind. He doesn't really work for games revolving around organizations (unless I made him your anime standard super-intelligent shota). Which isn't to say I'm against those concepts, but just so you know where my statement was coming from.


Anyway, I should be able to make someone else to be excited about.
I got the impression Garren wanted something morally gray, but idk.

In all fairness just because the world can be shades of grey doesn't mean your character would have to be. I mean assuming (just for the sake of argument) we were Kanto natives we would probably look to groups like the Rockets as something akin to small-town heroes; the guys banding together and trying to rebuild things after everyone else was finished kicking the carp out of each other over junk we didn't really understand or weren't really involved in.

Running with the character concept you posted above I could be easily be an older sibling trying to keep my kid brother safe and happy despite, ya know, being in a post-war scenario with an occupational government in a county going through significant political and technological change. Bringing the Rockets into it it could have been something I joined specifically for the relative stability and infrastructure they provided because those things allow me to take better care of you - even if it does mean I have to turn my eye from (or even engage in) some of the more questionable of the groups activities.

Also when you say you 'lost' a pokemon do you literally mean lost or dead. I can read both from the context of the statement.

I like the direction this is going. If you're okay with playing as siblings that join Team Rocket, you can start on character creation.

For this game, I'm disallowing psychic powers. You can have one starter Pokémon, which can be of any species that a Kanto kid could reasonably find and keep as a pet. The Pokémon can have one held item, cosmetic marking, or move known as a Special Trait.

Your parents died in the war. You're currently being looked after by your uncle, a Silph Heavy Industries construction foreman, who treats you well but is away at work most days. He believes you're independent kids doing odd jobs to make ends meet.

You don't need to write any Bonds at character creation except for your Bond with your starter Pokémon, but you'll want to think about how your character sees your uncle, as well as Team Rocket and the Indigo League military government.

Of course. What I meant to say is that heist campaigns typically don't delve into moral grayness, at least from my understanding. Those center more around being clever, badass or silly.

In this case it was 'lost' as in 'stolen by team rocket'.

Are we using exclusively the Gen 1 dex? Always seemed a bit strange to me that newer generations have Pokémon from older in them, but not vice versa. The remakes tend to introduce some of them, but I think they're only as post-game content, so idk entirely how that works. I don't know if this will even come up, but are evolutions also limited in that case? (e.g. Espeon or Slowking.)

You can pull from the Gen 1 or 2 Pokédex. Most other Pokémon are rare in this region, heavily controlled military assets, or not yet discovered. That's not to say you can't start with a Piplup or something, but you'll need to justify it.

Noel
I am the ultimate grandson. I fell women with my innocent charm.
I have a carefree personality. Things always tend to work out in the end.
My naivety gets me into trouble. The world of grown-ups is often confusing.
My life's dream is to become like my brother. He's been my idol since I was young.


Nap is the first and only Pokémon I've caught on my own. Whenever I feel sad or scared, I burrow myself into his wool to feel at ease. He has developed a slightly overprotective nature as a result.


I received Dible as a gift when we were visiting Hoenn for my birthday. She was forcefully taken from me by a group of evil people (because of species regulations and other complicated stuff.)

I like Noel - he's really cute! I assume your Bond with Nap is "Nap is overprotective of me." What does being "the ultimate grandson" mean though?

Halwood (Call me Hal)
Talent: I'm tough as an old boot and know how to hold my own.
Nature: I'm super serious. People are depending on me now - I can't let them down.
Flaw: I'm slow to trust others and suspicious to a fault.
Goal: To keep my brother safe and happy regardless of all else.

Yeah, sure. I forgot all about that.

It means this:

I wanted to play a face character (it seemed like the most rational area to be proficient in), but I couldn't find a suitable way to express it (and this sounded kind of funny.) It's mostly being charming, in an endearing way. I figured that "behaving in a way your typical grandmother would appreciate" covered most of the bases.

I've been reading a bit. Is 8 an acceptable age? I'm personally a bit puzzled as to why rocket would take in a kid.
Any ideas for how I can express my naivety? I'll try to view the world in very black and white ways, generally not understand more complex motivations, and judge things more by how they appear as opposed to trying to understand.

How well known is Pokémon information in general? Are Pokédexes a thing? Would someone interested know evolution paths, type advantages, to some extent habitats, abilities, egg groups, move functions, etc?

And most importantly, how much agency do I have over what I wear? What is our uniform like?